Introducing...The Tuesday Night Bachelorette Party

Bachelorette "girls' getaway" weekends are a blast, but they can be tough to coordinate with everyone's busy schedules (and they're pretty pricey to boot). So, we're introducing a new concept: The Tuesday Night Bachelorette Party.

If most of your ladies are local, pick a fabulous hotel for everyone to meet at—the historic Hotel Shangri-La in Santa Monica, for instance. It has a very luxurious, "destination" feel spiked with Old Hollywood glamour, and is located steps away from the beach and the Santa Monica Pier (1, view from the hotel's roof).

Get the party started with the Shangri-La's daily happy hour ($5 well drinks and half-price wines by the glasses) from 4 to 7pm in Suite 700 (2), the hotel's indoor/outdoor rooftop bar which feels like Grandpa's library—if Grandpa were a dashing 1930s-era studio executive who enjoyed the occasional tete-a-tete with Carole Lombard. Next head to dinner in the dining room (3)—a Tuesday night-only prix fixe dinner deal ($26 buys you a delicious "supper" of garden salad, coq au vin, and dessert) ensures no one has to spend a lot on food and booze. Especially if you skip a pub crawl on the Promenade, and instead "retire" to any number of the hotel's sleek, share-able suites (4,5) for a party of your own. Tuesday night also gives guests an out if they don't want to shell out for an overnight stay, although the posh pool area (6) is well worth the price of admission. Hotel Shangri-La, 1301 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica; rooms from $295 per night; kitchen suites from $465 per night —Amy Elliott, Brides Southern California